Game apparatus.



D. H. TALBERT.

GAME APPARATU$.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. 1912.

1,069,909. Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Fig.1.

D. H. TALB'ERT.

GAME APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JULY 5, 1912.

1,069,909; Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES; 55 INVENTOR.

Daniel H.To.lbe-r=f7 I A ATTORNEY.

COLUMBYIA PLANOGRAPH cc., WASHINGTON, D. C

DANIEL H. TALBERT, 0F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN BOX BALL COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A CORPORATION.

GAME APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DANIEL H. TALBERT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain useful Game Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction of game apparatus of the type popularly known as box-ball, a species of bowling alley which is movable instead of fixed.

One feature of the invention consists in the means employed for holding the pin in either vertical or struck position. This is done by a single spring-controlled means.

Another feature of the invention consists in the resetting means herein shown, and particularly in the arrangement whereby the resetting of one pin will cause the resetting of the other pins which have been struck.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device centrally broken away. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the rear of the device. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, parts being broken away. Fig. i is a side elevation of one of the pins and the means by which it is mounted, the pins being in idle position and parts broken away. Fig. 5 is the same as Fig. 4 with parts in vertical section. Fig. 6 is the same as Fig. 5 with the pin partially actuated after it is struck by a ball. Fig. 7 is the same as Fig. 6 with the pin still further actuated. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a pin and means for mounting the same, parts being broken away and the pin shown in struck position. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the rear part of the device, parts being broken away to show the resetting means. Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse section through the rear part of the device on the line 1010 of Fig. 1.

In detail, there is shown herein a ball course 10. like a bowling alley, on which balls 11 are adapted to be rolled, and strike the pins 12 mounted at the rear end of the device above the ball course, and pivoted with the lower ends thereof in proximity with the ball course, so that they may be.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 5, 1912.

Patented Aug. 12,1913.

Serial No. 707,860.

struck by a ball. At each side of the ball course there is a trough 18, and there is a return trough 14 by which the ball returns to the front end of the device. At the rear of the device, above the ball course, there is an irregular frame formed of irregularly longitudinally extending bars 16 secured at the rear to a cross bar 17 and toward the front to inwardly extending rods 117 from posts 217, see Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Between and in the longitudinal bars 16, the pins 12 are fulcrumed between their ends by fulcrum pins 18, see Figs. 3 and 8, so that the pins will be fulcrumed near the middle point but the lower end of the pins are heavier than the upper end thereof, so that the former hangs down by gravity in close proximity to the ball course, as shown in Fig. 3. These pins are formed substantially like one-half of the bowling pin, as if the regular bowling pin were split centrally and longitudinally, and the flat side of the pin is rearward so that the forward side of the pins make them look like regular bowling pins.

As shown in Fig. 8, a plate 20 is secured about midway of the flat side of each pin, and to the lower end of the plate there are ears 25 to which is pivoted a rod 21 which extends rearwardly and operates loosely through a hole 22 in the cross bar 19, and a spring 23 is wound spirally around the rod 21 and presses against the bar 19 and its pivot point in such manner that when the bowling pin is nearly vertical, the springwill tend to force it into the true vertical position, as seen in Fig. 5, but when the bowling pin has been moved from the vertical toward the horizontal position so that the pivot between the rod 29 and ears 25 will pass the center line between the pivot 18 of the pin and the hole 22 and bar 17, the spring will tend to force the pin toward the horizontal position, see Figs. 7 and 8. Therefore, when the pin is struck, it will be forced from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 8 and will be held in that position by the spring 23. Buffers 26 are secured to cross bars 27 and run on the underside of the bars 16. The bowl-' ing pins, after they have been struck, are actuated or reset by pulling forward on the lever 80 at the front end of the device located near the post 31 and fulcrumed at its lower end at 32 to the side of the return trough 14. Such forward action of the lever 30 will draw the connecting rod 33 forward, and said connecting rod is pivoted to the lower end of a crank 34 on the outer end of the crank shaft 35, see Fig. 10, which is mounted in the side 36 of the rear part of the frame and also in the bearing hanger 37 suspended from the cross bar 17 These parts are held in their normal position by the spring 39, see Fig. 1, which extends from the crank 34- to the rear of the plate 40 of the frame. The inner end of the crank shaft 35, see Fig. 10, has a crank 41-2 which is connected by the bar 43 with the resetting frame. This resetting frame rests and is slidable upon the frame in which the bowling pins are mounted composed of the irregular bars 16, cross bar 17 and rods 117. The resetting frame consists of the rear cross plate 44. see Fig. 2, and plates 50 projecting forwardly therefrom and rigidly secured thereto, and plates 51 connected with the plates 50 by the metal connecting bars 52, and the plate connected with the plates 51 by the bars 52. The plate 14 is for resetting the rear row of bowling pins, the plates 50 are for resetting the next to the rear row, the plates 51 are for resetting the third row from the rear, and the plate is for resetting the front bowling pin. The leather straps 15 extend from some part of said resetting frame forwardly to the lug 46 on the upper part of the plate 20 secured to the rear face of each bowling pin, so that when said resetting frame is drawn to the rear by the mechanism heretofore described, through said leather straps 4:6 all of the bowling pins will be oscillated or forced from the horizontal to the upright position and will be stopped when they reach the upright position by the stop arm 47 which extends from one of the bars 16 in a position to be engaged by the flat face of the bowling pin at a point above its fulcrum, and the bowling pin is held in such. upright position by the spring 23 after the pivot of the rod 21 has passed below the line between the pivot 18 and the hole 22. The plates 50, 51 and 53 are each provided with a recess 56, so that the plates will move astride the rod 21 and spring 23 as the plate moves forwardly after the pins have been reset, but after the pins have been reset, the lever 30 must be thrown to the vertical position and through the connections move the resetting frame forward so as to leave the straps 4C5 lax, as shown in Figs. 4 to 7. In Fig. 8 the resetting plate 53 has been moved rearwardly so as to pull the strap 45 taut. Further rearward movement of the plate 53 will throw the pin into the position shown in Fig. 5.

I claim as my invention:

1. A game apparatus including a ball course, a horizontal frame above the ball course having a pair of side bars and an intermediate cross bar, a bowling pin fulcrumed between its ends and between and to the side bars of said frame, an ear extending from the rear part of said pin near its fulcrum, a rod pivoted at one end to said ear and at the other end projecting loosely through said cross bar, a spring on said rod between said cross bar and said ear whereby the pin will be held in the vertical and horizontal positions, and means for stopping the pin in both of said positions.

2. A game apparatus including a ball course, a main frame above the ball course, bowling pins fulcrumed between their ends to said main frame, an ear extending from the rear part of each pin near its fulcrum, a rod pivoted to said ear at one end, a guide for the other end of said rod, a spring on said rod pressing at one end against said guide and at the other end against said ear so that when the pin is moved to bring the connection between the ear and rod below a straight line from the fulcrum of the pin to said guide, the spring will tend to force the pin in the upright position, and when said pivot passes above said line the spring will tend to force and hold the pin in. a substantially horizontal position, a stop on said frame for limiting the return movement of each pin when the pin reaches an upright position and means connected with said pin above its fulcrum for overcoming the action of said spring and returning the pin to an upright position.

3. A game apparatus including a ball course, a main frame above the ball course, bowling pins fulcrumed between their ends in said frame so that a ball may strike the lower end of the same and throw them from a vertical to a substantially horizontal position, means for holding the pins in the actuated position, a resetting frame slidable upon said main frame, a connection between said resetting frame and the upper portion of each pin, and means for operating the resetting frame.

at. A game apparatus including a ball course, a main frame located above the ball course, bowling pins fulcrumed between their ends in said frame so the lower ends of the pins may be struck by balls, means for releasably holding each bowling pin, a resetting frame slidable on said main frame, a flexible strap extending from the upper partof each pin rearward to the resetting frame, and means for operating the resetting frame.

5. A game apparatus including a ball course, a main frame in skeleton form mounted above said ball course and wide at 1 its rear end and tapering forwardly to a central position on the ball course, bowling pins mounted in said main frame with four pins in the rear row, three in the next row in front of the rear row, two in the next row and one in the most forward position, means for releasably holding each pin after it has been struck, a resetting frame slidable on the main frame and consisting of a rear cross plate extending forwardly therefrom to each of the pins in the next row to the front and a plate for each pin in the next row connected With the preceding plates, flexible straps connected With the upper part of each bowling pin and extending rear- Wardly to said resetting frame, and means 10 for actuating the resetting frame.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of the Witnesses herein named.

DANIEL H. TALBERT. iVitnesses:

O, M. MCLAUGHLIN, E. H. MAYO.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

